Review of the New York City Watershed Protection Program (2020) / Chapter Skim
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6 Stream Management Program
6 Stream Management Program
Pages 165-200
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From page 165... ...
, the Stream Management Program (SMP) is both a water quality protection and remediation program.
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From page 166... ...
Management strategies span a range of activities from preservation and passive monitoring to full channel restoration. INTRODUCTION TO CATSKILLS STREAMS AND STREAM MANAGEMENT NYC DEP and local partners have the daunting task of managing nearly 4,000 miles of streams and associated floodplains in a region famed for its ruggedness, deep ravines locally called cloves,1 stunning waterfalls, and dense woods (Figure 6-2)
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From page 167... ...
along some bedrock ravines pose challenging conditions for developing stream management and restoration plans. Many of the stream projects completed to date, for example, are at locations where glacio-lacustrine clays have been exposed by recent erosion along stream beds and banks (e.g., Davis et al., 2009; NYC DEP, 2017)
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SOURCE: Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program (2015)
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. The Committee's review of dozens of sites for Catskill stream management projects suggests that modern causes of instability are closely linked to channel relocations and realignments associated with numerous roads, bridges, and railroads that crisscross valley bottoms, as well as other anthropogenic disturbances that alter sediment supply and runoff.
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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The SMP has many components, including stream management plans and projects (those that focus on stream channels) , efforts to revegetate riparian areas including the Catskill Streams Buffer Initiative (CSBI)
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, followed by full channel restorations (60) and streambank TABLE 6-1 Components of the Stream Management Program and Participants Stream Management Participants Program Component Stream management plans New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP)
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. FIGURE 6-5 Locations of stream projects that entailed full channel restoration, streambank stabilization, stormwater and infrastructure control, or post-flood remediation in the six WOH watersheds.
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Until 2007, much of the work of the SMP was related to establishing partnerships with various agencies and groups in WOH watersheds, coordinating training of staff at NYC DEP and partner agencies such as county soil and water conservation districts, developing a better understanding of streams in the region, mapping stream corridors, locating areas of channel instability through stream assessments, and planning for projects through development of stream management plans. Since then, program efforts have shifted to a much greater focus on project implementation, as well as to more targeted scientific investigations designed to identify sources of highest turbidity and evaluate effectiveness of restoration practices.
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From page 174... ...
They are essential for identifying chronic and emergent problems along stream corridors, and for prioritizing reach-scale water quality threats. For example, stream management plans for Beaver Kill3 and Stony Clove Creek4 identified reaches that were persistent sources of sediment and high turbidity; this information then guided the targeting of sites for remediation and monitoring.
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. The Upper Esopus Creek Stream Management Plan Volume I notes that for the Upper Esopus there are "238 existing streamside FIGURE 6-6 Stream inventory map for stream bank erosional suspended-sediment sources and locations of monitoring sites in the Stony Clove sub-basin of Upper Esopus Creek.
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. Stream Projects Once stream management plans are created, stream projects can be implemented, (see Figure 6-4; Box 6-1)
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Stream Management Program 177 FIGURE 6-8 Map of intervention levels and priority sites for restoration along Woodland Creek in the Ashokan watershed. About 48 percent of the stream length was mapped as needing full or assisted restoration.
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Floodplain connection has multiple benefits including reducing the risk of bank erosion by limiting channel boundary shear stresses, improving water quality by providing space for sediment deposition, and creating hydrologic connectivity for a healthy lotic ecosystem. It is generally accepted by those who practice and evaluate stream restoration projects that a stable stream with high floodplain connectivity is more likely to have the capacity to store floodwater and fine sediment on the floodplain through overbank flow and deposition than a stream with little or limited floodplain connectivity (e.g., one that is incised)
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There have been five post-flood response projects, discussed in greater detail in the subsequent section on the Flood Hazard Mitigation Program. Stream Management Implementation Program Beyond the main SMP, NYC DEP has committed $12.8 million for 218 stakeholder-driven community projects through the Stream Management Implementation Program.
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From page 180... ...
. The following anthropogenic activities were listed in the Stony Clove Creek Stream Management Plan as likely to be significant factors in destabilizing the channel: Mid- to late-1800s: Logging, tanneries, sawmills, and related activities (e.g., bark roads)
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. In an effort to reduce erosion, 1,300 feet of stream channel along the Stony Clove Creek-Warner Creek conflu ence was restored through a partnership with the NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection Program, the Town of Shandaken, Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District (UCSWCD)
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Only projects identified from an LFA are eligible for funding from NYC DEP. Through the LFA process, the Local Flood Hazard Mitigation Program aims to concurrently address water quality in ways that support community flood resiliency and are responsive to community needs.
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. It is difficult to track which LFA projects have been implemented and how much financing has supported those projects, in part because those projects are funded through differing sources, including the Stream Management Implementation Program (which also funds projects identified as part of the stream management plans)
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Designation or development of demonstration sites in each SCWD -- with before and after and above and below water quality sampling and data analysis -- could help to advance the goals and build upon the early success of the CSBI. A time series of photographs from an established vantage point (e.g., Figure 6-9)
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Program advisory committees comprised of local leaders and agency advisors meet quarterly to exchange information and guide program priorities. During development, adoption, and implementation of stream management plans, public participation is possible through meetings, focus group discussions, workshops, and activities such as stream clean-ups and streamside plantings. Annual action plans with basin priorities and schedules are available to the public.7 Numerous conferences and other events are held at various intervals, such as the recently established biennial Catskill Environmental Research and Monitoring Conference that provides researchers and managers who work in the Catskills opportunities to share findings of their work, develop collaborations for interdisciplinary projects.
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From page 186... ...
of the restored steam length. Although the percentage of total stream length restored by bank stabilization, full-channel restoration, or floodplain restoration is small, only 0.6 percent, the SMP has targeted sites that emerged as chronic problem areas during the processes of assessing and mapping stream corridors, generating Stream Feature Inventories, and prioritizing reaches for treatment in stream management plans.
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From page 187... ...
Furthermore, at some sites they indicate substantial reductions in turbidity levels and daily-suspended sediment loads after the completion of the sediment and turbidity reduction stream restoration projects. It is NYC DEP's intent to use this information to inform and guide future practice at other sites where monitoring might not occur.
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FIGURE 6-2-1 Daily mean suspended sediment concentration as a function of daily mean streamflow before and after the sediment and turbidity reduction projects at the Stony Clove Creek below Ox Clove at Chichester, New York, stream gage. Black dots are data from before the STRPs were constructed.
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. In fall 2016, NYC DEP began a long-term study with the USGS to assess changes in turbidity that can be attributed to specific stream restoration efforts in the Upper Esopus Creek watershed.
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. In the Stony Clove Creek and Beaver Kill watersheds, for example, longitudinal stream sampling by the USGS identified failing hillslopes as the primary source of fine sediment (Siemion et al., 2016)
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The same has happened elsewhere in the United States, as companies and agencies doing stream restoration adapt to the conditions in their regions and learn from past projects. Using Remote Sensing for Stream Corridor Assessment and Monitoring Many of the tasks required for stream assessment could be done with drones and airborne LIDAR rather than boots-on-the-ground fieldwork.
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Through such a data analysis process, the true effectiveness of the STRPs in the Upper Esopus Creek watershed can be evaluated. Modeling in the Stream Management Program Described in greater detail in Chapter 12, the NYC DEP's watershed model, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)
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Community Vitality in the Stream Management Program Many aspects of the SMP contribute to community vitality, primarily by increasing flood resiliency, though the improvements to stream corridors that benefit ecosystems and aesthetics also contribute to community vitality. Flood events can cause significant loss of property and disruption to community life.
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Among the entire suite of Watershed Protection Programs, the Stream Management Program is particularly commendable. The program embraces several approaches to restoration design, including NCD and hydraulic engineering models, to reduce the risk of project failure.
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Finally, a demonstration site in each soil and water conservation district could be established, with before and after, above and below water quality monitoring to explore riparian forest buffer effectiveness. Increased coordination between the Stream Management Program and other Watershed Protection Programs would more effectively prioritize project locations and achieve restoration objectives.
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2007. Upper Esopus Creek Stream Management Plan Vol ume I
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2014. Turbidity and suspended sediment in the upper Esopus Creek watershed, Ulster County, New York.
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2019b. Stream Management Program Upper Esopus Creek Watershed Turbidity/Suspended-Sed iment Monitoring Study: Biennial Status Report, March.
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2016. Suspended-sediment and turbidity responses to sediment and turbidity reduction projects in the Beaver Kill, Stony Clove Creek, and Warner Creek watersheds, New York, 2010–14.
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